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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to an improved golf club that has a hollow recess, receptacle or cavity that holds a moving insert. The insert provides a club face portion that shifts depending upon the orientation of the club shaft during the swing in order to correct for improper technique. The apparatus can be used as a teaching aid to indicate to the user when he or she has improperly supported the club during the swing.
2. General Background of the Invention
When a golfer swings a golf club and simultaneously supports the club in an improper orientation, the result is a ball that traverses a curved path. These curved paths of the golf ball are referred to as either a xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cslicexe2x80x9d. A hook refers to a ball flight path that curves to the left of the fairway. A slice is a golf ball flight path that travels in a curved path to the right of the fairway.
Some golf club constructions have been patented which attempt to help the golfer in his or her appointed task of driving the ball as far and as straight as possible.
The Ackerman U.S. Pat. No. 1,975,307 provides a head for golf sticks that provides in combination a head, a hammer loosely seated in the head, and a plate forming a striking face thereof and adapted to be struck by the hammer.
The Chancellor U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,731 discloses a golf head incorporating a hollow interior with a movable weight supported on a mounting rod which can be oriented in different angular positions to counteract the tendency of the golfer to hook or slice the ball and to increase the distance which the ball is driven due to the additional forces exerted on the ball by the movable weight. The movable weight is centered on the mounted rod by spring devices and the overall shape and configuration of the golf club head is not changed.
A golf putter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,430. In the ""430 patent, the golf putter provides a head with a front to rear elongated rod-like weight or ram encased in a transparent plastics material body and is provided with a rotatable rod or ram portion to shift the axial center of the mass of the head to correct malfunctioning variations and to correct errors in the putting stroke.
The Lee U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,222 discloses a wood golf club head that includes a golf club head cavity, and a permanent magnet plate attached to the back side of the club head cavity whereby upon hitting the golf ball, the steel ball moves and hits an inner sweet point corresponding to a sweet point of the front surface face of golf club head, so that the struck ball will fly in a straight direction and in a longer distance compared with an expected golf ball distance.
In the Nickum U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,920, there is disclosed a golf club having an adjustable head with a positive locking mechanism. The lower end of the golf club shaft terminates in a spherical ball which is restrained within a cooperating bore in the golf club head which permits free rotational and pivotal movement of the head with respect to the shaft. A locking screw, when tightened within the bore, holds the pivot ball in place against rotational and pivotal motion. A portion of the locking screw is designed to break off after tightening so that the position of the head cannot be changed during play.
In the Lindstedt U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,446, there is disclosed a device for insuring that directional stability is monitored and maintained in three axes when addressing a golf ball with a golf club. Visual alignment and club head positioning is obtained through the use of holograms affixed to the heads of the clubs so that a visual check by the holder of the club reveals the image or object in three dimensions when the dub is improperly positioned and in two dimensions when it is perfectly positioned. Image color (s) are also used to enhance recognition of proper club head positioning.
In the Henwood U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,269, there is disclosed a putting stroke training device. The critical features of the putting stroke training device of the ""269 patent includes Y-axis sensor means for detecting and signaling whether the face of a putter strikes a golf ball perpendicular to the path of the putter head and X-axis sensor means for detecting and signaling any abnormal acceleration or deceleration of the putter head. The Y-axis sensor means is disposed in a Y plane that is perpendicular to the golf ball striking face. The X-axis sensor means is disposed in an X plane that is perpendicular to the Y plane and is in the same plane as the shaft. This putting stroke trainer will assist the golfer in striking the ball with the club face perpendicular to the path of the putter head, and in developing a smooth pendulum swing and avoiding the xe2x80x9cyipsxe2x80x9d.
In the Tseng U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,587 there is disclosed a centroid-adjustable golf club head, which can enable a user to strike a golf ball more stably and accurately. The centroid-adjustable golf club head includes a head body, a sphericity, a floating ball and liquid with large specific weight. The head body has anti vibration and thermoplastic elastomer disposed therein and defines a screw hold at a top thereof. The sphericity is disposed in the anti vibration and thermoplastic elastomer of the head body. The sphericity has a charging spout formed on a top thereof and aligned with the screw hole of the head body; and an elastic wafer disposed between the head body and the sphericity. The floating ball is disposed in the sphericity. The liquid with large specific weight is fed from the charging spout to the sphericity. With this arrangement, the centroid of the club head can be adjusted to an appropriate position, depending to the relative position of the liquid and the floating ball. Therefore, the user can strike the ball stably in any time and by any angle.
The present invention provides an improved golf club that incorporates a compensating member or pendulum into the head of the club. The apparatus reacts to the swing of the golf club by the golfer, and tends to correct the imperfections in the user""s technique.
The present invention accomplishes these goals by providing a weighted insert within the club""s head that is moved by centrifugal forces generated during the down stroke of the swing. The weighted insert pivots about an axle and this in turn rotates the striking face of the club""s head which is on the opposite side of the weighted unit.
A change of about six to ten degrees in the angle of the striking face may be thus effected. This angle change affects the direction of the golf ball as the club head of the driver contacts the ball. The direction of the flight of the ball is normal to or at right angles to the striking face of the club.
If the golfer""s swing has an outward curve to it, a spin is imparted to the ball causing its flight to make a curve to the right. Such a curved travel path for the golf ball is commonly referred to as a slice.
By changing the direction of the start of the ball""s flight three or four degrees to the left, the final landing point of the ball is moved back toward the center of the fairway, correcting its errant course.
If the golfer swing follows a more inward curve, producing a course known as a xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d, the weighted unit of the club head rotates in the opposite direction, pointing the face to the right approximately three to four degrees. This alteration of the ball""s initial flight allows the spin of the ball to curve its course back to the left thus causing the ball""s landing point to be close to the center of the fairway.
In one embodiment, an electric indicator can include a display with three small colored lights on the top of the club head indicating to the user which position the swinging weight unit assumed at the moment of contact with the ball.
In one embodiment, a spring or cable limits travel of the insert. In another embodiment, a pair of compression springs limits travel of the insert.
If the swing is perfectly straight, with the striking face driving the ball straight ahead, the white or center light illuminates or flashes.
If the swing has an outward curve so as to slice to the right, the green light illuminates or flashes.
If the swing has an inward curve, so as to hook the ball to the left, the red light illuminates or flashes. The apparatus of the present invention can be applied to drivers, wedges and/or any other golf club.